Spring type resistance exercising device

ABSTRACT

An exercising machine comprising a housing having a removable bottom which serves to hold removable pulley brackets in place. Share springs are stored in compartments provided in the housing. Lines are connected at the ends of the housing, reeved over pulleys that are connected to pulley blocks and springs, and then passed through holes in the platform on top of the housing. Hand grips are attached to the lines for grasping by the user so that during an exercising program the springs will offer resistance to a pulling force on the lines.

United States Patent Schollmeyer Aug. 29, 1972 7 1 ignq Sm q teNqvflorkaNiYl,

[54] SPRING TYPE RESISTANCE EXERCISING DEVICE [72] Inventor: William A. Schollmeyer, Yonkers,

Nil 71.71. .017,

[22] Filed: Aug. 21, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 65,888

[52] US. Cl. ..272/83 R, 272/DlG. 4 [51] Int. Cl. ...A63b 21/00, A63b 21/02, A63b 21/16 [58] Field of Search.....272/83 R, 83 A, 82, 80, 79 R,

272/DIG. 4, DIG. 5, 57 R, 81

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,344,002 6/ 1920 Kibler ..272 /79 R 2,131,570 9/1938 Riley ..272/83 A UX Dattilo ..272/83 R 992,272 5/1911 Singer ..272/83 R Primary Examiner-Richard C. Pinkham Assistant Examiner-William R. Browne i Attorney-Kenneth S. Goldfarb ABSTRACT An exercising machine comprising a housing having a removable bottom which serves to hold removable pulley brackets in place. Share springs are stored in compartments provided in the housing. Lines are connected at the ends of the housing, reeved over pulleys that are connected to pulley blocks and springs, and then passed through holes in the platfonn on top of the housing. Hand grips are attached to the lines for grasping by the user so that during an exercising program the springs will offer resistance to a pulling force on the lines.

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SPRING TYPE RESISTANCE EXERCISING DEVICE This invention relates generally to human exercise devices and more particularly to a machine for exercising the muscles of the human body, which device is particularly suited for use in virtually. all positions, such as standing, sitting, kneeling, squating or lying down.

Today, with the great interest on the part of the public with respect to physical fitness, various systems have been developed so as to aid in the maintenance of physical health such as isometrics and the like.

It is a well known fact that performance of exercises is facilitated by the use of specifically designed equipment for such purposes. However, in the past such equipment has been expensive, required permanent installation, been bulky or virtually impossible to store within the confines of an apartment or small home and in addition such equipment required skill and supervision.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an exercise device which can be used in the home and which device is portable, storable and requires no installation, which device can be used for developing the muscles of the user as well as improving and maintaining proper muscle tone for the user.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an exercise device which has spare springs that may be interchanged if the user so desires.

Further, it is an object of the invention to provide an exercise device where all parts are easily accessible and replaceable without the need for tools or mechanical assistance.

Still further, it is an object of the invention to provide a self-contained exercise machine which is light weight, and inexpensive to manufacture, while at the same time is of attractive appearance and can provide the user with all types of exercise capability in a single self-contained exercise device.

These, together with the various ancillary objects and features of the invention, which will become apparent as the following description proceeds, are attained by this exercise device, preferred embodiments of which exercising device are illustrated in the accompanying drawing, by way of example only, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view to show the clean one piece construction of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view with parts broken away to reveal the interior. This view may also serve as an elevation of the device when used for rowing and other exercises in which the machine rests on edge;

FIG. 3 is a sectional detail view of an end of the housing and illustrating certain details of the pulley support bracket; and,

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view schematically showing the pulley and spring arrangement used in the invention.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the accompanying drawing and in the following specification in which the parts and their operation are more fully described.

The exercising machine comprises a housing 11 having a rectangular control portion 12 and trapezoidal shaped end portions 14 and 16 having a continuous top flush deck platform 18 between the ends 20 and 22. Hand grips 24 and 26 are positioned adjacent the ends 20 and 22 when retracted to their resting position.

As the center of the platform member 18 is of substantially greater width than ends 20 and 22 there is provided thereunder and at each side housing compartments 28 and 30, not shown, suitable to store spare springs 32 and 34, and of a depth equal to and flush with the bottom member 36 of housing thereby forming a solid base.

Either edge 40 and 42 of said housing 11 is of sulficient length to form a base for the machine when it is used for rowing and other exercises during which the operator sits on the floor pushing the feet against the platform 18.

The platform member 18 has applied thereto an antislip material with an adhesive backing.

To gain access to the compartments 28 and end 30 there is provided the removable bottom 36 that is attached to housing 11 by matching grooves in the housing 11 and the bottom 36 and thereby snapping into position without any other anchoring device. Bottom- 36 can be pried easily from housing 11 by inserting a large coin in grooves 48 provided in bottom 36.

Within the housing 11 and inserted in the vertical grooves 50 near the ends is a pulley support bracket 52 including a plate 54 having a flange 56 to which are secured springs 58 by means of holes 60 in the flange 56 of bracket 52. The bracket 52 also has mounted thereon the pulleys 62 about which the line 64 is entrained. The bracket 52 also contains a hole 66 to engage the knotted ends 68 of the line 64. The opposite ends of the line 64 are secured to the stirrups 70 and 71 of the hand grips 24 and 26. The bottom 36 is removed. The opposite ends of the springs 58 are secured to the two part pulley blocks 74. The pulley support bracket, springs and pulley blocks as well as the line end at each end of the device are duplicated except that the arrangement of the parts are relatively at opposite sides of the housing 11.

At each end of the housing 11 there is a hole directly over the pulley 62 of the pulley support bracket 52 through which the line 64 may freely pass and due to the depth of the pulley 62 and the smooth rounded hole 80 in housing 11, the line 64 may be pulled at a great angle to the perpendicular to the platform 18 without binding or jamming the line 64.

The line 64 and the relationship of the pulleys 62 over which they run may be clarified by the following:

As shown best in FIG. 4, each of the lines 64 passes under and over the pulley 74b of the pulley block 74 then passes about the pulley 620, then under and over the pulley 74e, then between pulleys 62f and through the hole 80 to the stirrup 70, attached to hand grip 24. Thus, there is a four part purchase" in stretching the springs 58; four lines and double pulley blocks being used.

Springs 58 of various size and tension may be easily interchanged and in the compartments 28 and 30 there is shown a suitable manner of storing spare springs-not This device may be operated and applied in many ways both when lying with the bottom on the flooras shown in FIG. 1 or as on edge.

The extreme length of travel due to the use of a fourpart line enables the operator to pull the hand grips 24 and 26 to a position where the arms are straight upward over the head when standing on the platform member 1 8; a traverse of more than 7 feet. The numerous exercise s need not be enumerated here as it is apparent that the various degrees of tension available are merely a matter of the use of changing the springs 58.

A latitude of modification, substitution and change is intended in the foregoing disclosure, and in some instances, some features of the invention will be employed without a corresponding use of other features.

I claim: 1

1. An exercising machine comprising a housing having a removable bottom member and a platform member provided with holes therethrough, said hous-,

ing having opposed ends and opposed pairs of vertically extending grooves therein adjacent said ends, pulley brackets including plates, said plates being removably received in said grooves, said bottom member supporting said bracket plates in said grooves, a spring secured to each of said bracket plates and each one of said springs being secured at each end of said housing, respectively, ropes a separate rope secured at one end thereof to each end of said housing and reeved over and pulley block secured to said spring, the opposite end of said rope extending through one of said holes and being retractable by a user to tension said spring, and hand grips secured to the opposite end of said rope above said platform.

2. An exercising machine according to claim 1, whereinv said housing has storage compartments therein, and means for storing spare springs in said compartments.

3. An exercising machine according to claim 2,

wherein said platform has a flush deck positioned on 

1. An exercising machine comprising a housing having a removable bottom member and a platform member provided with holes therethrough, said housing having opposed ends and opposed pairs of vertically extending grooves therein adjacent said ends, pulley brackets including plates, said plates being removably received in said grooves, said bottom member supporting said bracket plates in said grooves, a spring secured to each of said bracket plates and each one of said springs being secured at each end of said housing, respectively, ropes a separate rope secured at one end thereof to each end of said housing and reeved over and pulley block secured to said spring, the opposite end of said rope extending through one of said holes and being retractable by a user to tension said spring, and hand grips secured to the opposite end of said rope above said platform.
 2. An exercising machine according to claim 1, wherein said housing has storage compartments therein, and means for storing spare springs in said compartments.
 3. An exercising machine according to claim 2, wherein said platform has a flush deck positioned on top of said housing.
 4. An exercising machine according to claim 3, wherein said housing has an enlarged central portion running the length of said housing for receiving said springs, pulleys, and brackets, said compartments being located on opposite sides of said central portion.
 5. An exercising machine according to claim 4, wherein said housing has opposed trapezoidal shaped end portions.
 6. An exercising machine according to claim 5, wherein each of said grooves is provided in each of said end portions. 